[Norfleet]

Well, I've run into several would-be imitators of the strategy, but ultimately, even without my own VQ, defeating it is rather like taking candy from a baby. In truth, the VQ isn't as powerful as its made out to be: Like any SC, it's very adept at destroying conventional armies, which a wide range of SCs of varying costs and availability do very well for comparable risk, and falls flat against certain other things.

The key to successfully using the strategy, like any other strategy, involves keeping your opponent off balance, never being sure entirely what to expect and where to expect it, and forcing him to respond to you on your terms.

Originally posted by archaeolept:
for instance, reading the supposed "counters" in the counter thread mostly make me laugh as, for the most part, they would be pretty useless, or require vast amounts of resources compared to the reward, when used against someone who has mastered this strat - for instance, Norfleet.

Actually, I find many of those counters to be highly effective, given their cost. Obviously, how you assess cost vs. reward can vary widely. If you think about it, a VQ is, at least explicitly, "free". You don't have to pay gems for one. You have it from the start of the game. It's a freebie. So viewed from that perspective, ANY counter other than simply duelling it down with your own pretender costs SOMETHING, as opposed to the enemy pretender's nothing.

The question is: Do these proposed solutions represent a significant departure from tactics that you would otherwise be using ANYWAY?

In this respect, I'd have to say the answer is "no". Most of the proposed solutions are modular enough to be adaptable to any other related SC. Many of these solutions hold merit on their own as valid strategies with or without an SC. Sure, some of them are very contrived, but others are perfectly reasonable to employ as general strategies, particularly against SCs, many of whom utilize lifesteal, just as the VQ does.

Originally posted by rabelais:
Norfleet to my knowledge just pioneered the SC naked VQ castling and templing strat, he isn't *morally* responsible for it in some sinister way.

I'm sorry, but I can't claim credit for the naked VQ castling and templing strat. In truth, I employ the castling strategy independently of the VQ, and I don't really field the naked VQ as a strategy. Generally, I eschew the crutch of the immortality and field fully-equipped, armed-to-the-teeth VQs ASAP. That has only gone more slowly where YOU'VE encountered it because of Very Retarded Research combined with the fact that Ermor is really not a strong research nation. As such, the level of carnage I've managed to cause is somewhat limited.

Besides, you can barely even hit me!

So I'm not really "pioneering" the VQ/castle/temple strategy. I castle and temple out of an entirely seperate agenda. Arch will testify to the fact that I've fielded GKs based on similar builds with equally devastating effects. Frankly, this strategy works very well for ME because it fits perfectly with my personal idiom. I have yet to see anyone perform a truly successful imitation.